Grab a bargain: 3 steps to wine deal success (by James Newhouse)

James Newhouse got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago with an offer to write some articles for the site – you lot are obviously getting bored of my stuff by now so I jumped at the offer! James is an Internet marketing consultant living and working in Bedfordshire and currently works alongside other wine enthusiasts at a leading online wine retailer.

Once upon a dreary English autumn, when the very last leaf fell from the very last deciduous tree, Henry looked back on the last year of his life. Once a successful businessman, and now a down and out, he walked along the pavement kicking the odd crisp, brown leaf from his erratic path. The soles of his shoes flapped and his dirt encrusted toes poked through gaping holes in the ends.

In his mind he was back at that dinner party where, keen to impress potential investors in a new business venture, he had spent the last of his funds on the most expensive bottle of wine he could. His guests sat at the table eagerly chatting away, wondering what the night had in store for them.

Henry brought out his expensive bottle and began to open it in front of Lord Baronton of Bovingdale. Pouring a hardy glass in front of Baronton, and watching as he raised the glass to his lips, Henry eagerly awaited his response. If only he could impress him, he was sure his business would receive the funding it urgently needed.

After taking a sip, Baronton paused for a moment. Placed the glass carefully down on the table and said “This is an exceptional vintage, but you have the business acumen of a porcupine. How can I invest in someone so reckless with money… you should have gone to Tesco.”

The lesson here is obvious, spending money when you don’t have to, impresses no one.

Step 1 – Search Supermarket Shelves

Supermarkets aren’t all bad news when it comes to getting a good deal on wine. In fact, a lot of wines available in supermarkets are of a reasonably good quality, and should please most wine enthusiasts’ taste buds.

The own brand wines are usually good enough to satisfy those “not that into wine, but enjoy a cheap bottle now and then”. These bottles are fairly low priced all year round, so it’s not as urgent to grab them when they look like they’re on offer – save your cash to make bigger savings on better wines. Your taste buds will thank you for it.

Most supermarkets have a dedicated offers section, so finding something to match your tastes shouldn’t be a problem, just keep a close watch and grab a bargain when the better wines get reduced.

Step 2 -Sign up for online wine alerts

There are websites out there that collate wine deals exclusively online, supermarket wine prices (offline) as well as tracking price changes throughout the year. Whilst not a scientific way to predictwhen your favourites will be reduced, this can give you a good indication of how price varies with seasonality and fashion.

Many of these websites allow you to set up wine alerts via email so you can monitor the prices falling and grab your favourite bottles as soon as they hit their lowest price.

One thing you might consider is contacting your local wine merchants and asking them to let you know when prices are going to drop for your favourite wines. These guys should be more than willing to give you this information – if they suspect they’re going to get a bulk sale out of it later.

Step 3–Grab a wine voucher or ten

Another great way to save on your favourite wine is to look for wine vouchers or discount codes. Again, there are several websites out there that offer online voucher codes (the same way you might look for takeaway vouchers).

These sites often have exclusive vouchers for supermarkets, high street and online retailers, so again, it is important to look around to find the best voucher for you.